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A unique competition took place before the January 2016 college football national championship, played in Glendale. Representatives from the four college football playoff teams, as well as Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, competed in the Playoff Plant-off.

The teams, some of which were intermingled with representatives and alumni from various colleges, planted trees at Marivue Park in northwest Phoenix. The competition challenged the teams to see which one could plant 10 trees the fastest and in the correct way. The winning teams were awarded trophies, and the champion – Michigan State – received an urban forestry grant to plant trees on its campus.